Police in Hyderabad have registered a case against the head of Meta India. This legal action stems from multiple videos posted on Facebook. These videos allegedly depicted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an “abusive manner”.
V Aravind Babu, the Deputy Commissioner of Police for cyber crimes in Hyderabad, confirmed the development on Friday. Currently, the police are preparing to send a formal notice to Meta Platforms. However, authorities had not officially issued this notice as of today. Meanwhile, Meta India did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the situation.
This fresh police case adds to a growing string of tensions between Meta and the Modi government. Specifically, these ongoing disputes center around platform content tied directly to the Prime Minister.
Just last week, Facebook briefly restricted a post made by Modi. Therefore, India’s IT ministry quickly summoned Meta executives. A top government official stated that they wanted Meta to explain the restriction at the highest possible level.
The briefly restricted Facebook post carried significant political weight. It marked Modi’s first public address regarding massive student protests currently taking place across the country. Furthermore, these intense protests recently forced the resignation of India’s education minister.
In response to the government summons, a Meta spokesperson claimed that the platform had blocked the post inadvertently. Alongside the political unrest, Modi has faced a heavy barrage of online criticism, jokes, and ridicule from protesters in recent weeks.
Ultimately, these ongoing clashes hold major business implications for the social media giant. Currently, India stands as Facebook’s biggest market by total users.
